Successful Outcomes

Believe it! Auditory-Oral Rehabilitation is working for Maine infants, young children and adults with all levels of hearing loss.

Become inspired by these amazing stories of Maine individauls who are deaf or hard of hearing who can communicate easily thanks to their cochlear implants or hearing aids, hear ME now therapy, and supportive families and professionals. You can also watch our video to see that listening and speaking are possible with Auditory-Oral Education.

RISING SENIOR, RISING STAR, BRADLEY MORISSETTE. . .

Bradley Morissette is a senior at Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine. He will graduate in 2015. Below is an essay he wrote that he has permitted hear ME now to share. Good luck to you, Bradley, and congratuations!

“Overcoming Deafness” by Bradley Morissette

Even though being deaf is a struggle in life, it has not stopped me from attending a regular high school and doing what I love, which is playing high school sports. I am deaf but can hear with a cochlear implant, and that is a part of my identity, but I do not let my deafness define who I really am. Some of the best moments in my life have been overcoming obstacles. One of my main high school goals is to prove to my deaf peers that attending a hearing high school is always an option. I want to reach out to as many deaf athletes as I can and let them know that being deaf should not stop them from playing a sport they truly love.

After playing for the JV soccer team and playing with clubs such as Portland Phoenix, my soccer skills became more developed. As a senior, I am a starter on the Edward Little High School’s varsity soccer team. This accomplishment did not come to me naturally; I had to work extremely hard to obtain it. As the only deaf player on the soccer team, I have to know my strengths and weaknesses. Unlike others, I cannot hear the coach and teammates call the plays. I have to rely on myself to know what my coach and teammates are thinking. Other times, my teammates will communicate to me and tell me what is going on.

Another part of my background that I want to share is about my educational journey. Many students who are deaf usually go to a school for the deaf and sign all day with other students and teachers. From the beginning, my parents helped me overcome many obstacles that came along during my education. They advocated for me and taught me how to advocate for myself. As part of the hearing world, I attend my public high school where I am the only deaf student, who hears with a cochlear implant. Every day, high school leaves me feeling very exhausted because of the extra work I have to put in just to hear and locate sounds.

Reaching and achieving my goals helped me in my life by showing the world that a deaf student can be anything he/she wants to be. My goals also helped me become who I am as a person, friend, peer and to the society. By pushing myself through every day, it made me more successful. It also made me realize that there are no limits in life. Every time I try to accomplish something I just say “never give up” and push through the struggles that might get in the way.

TAYLOR’S READY FOR KINDERGARTEN!

Listening to Taylor chatter with his friends, you would never know that this five year old has been listening and speaking for only three years. Taylor is profoundly deaf. He received his first cochlear implant at the age of two (he received his second implant at four) and began attending hear ME now when he was three.

When Taylor first arrived, he was not able to speak or understand what was being said to him, but thanks to hear ME now!’s teachers of the deaf and therapists, the dedication of Taylor’s family and hard work by Taylor himself, he is now a true listener and oral communicator and is ready to be mainstreamed into the public school in his hometown in September.

Taylor loves to go fishing with his dad, plan and build amazing block structures with his friends at hear ME now and play baseball with his neighborhood friends. He is beginning to learn to read and knows the sounds of many of his letters! When asked if he was excited to go to Kindergarten, Taylor said, “I’m excited for summer. I get to play outside!” Excerpted from 2009 newsletter.

SUPER SETH!

Nine year old Seth is a gregarious, fun loving boy, who has great energy and a zest for life. Unlike most children being served by hear ME now Seth was born with perfect hearing. At three months of age, Seth became very ill with a high fever and was rushed to the hospital. After anxious hours of waiting, Seth was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis—the doctors were concerned about his survival. Seth survived the ordeal, but his relieved parents soon learned that due to the side effects of the illness he was now profoundly deaf in his right ear and had a fluctuating loss in his left ear. The long journey to find proper services for their son had begun for parents, Pete and Sue. Excerpted from 2009 newsletter.

Obtaining information from therapists, audiologists and other professionals was a key to discovering what options were available for their son. Should they concentrate on immersing Seth into Deaf culture and teach him sign language? Should they give him access to the hearing world through the use of hearing aids or cochlear implants? What would work best for their family?

Seth was fitted for hearing aids at the age of 12 months, and when he was 17 months of age, Pete and Sue decided to send Seth to a program at the Baxter School for the Deaf (Maine Education Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) that used some speech combined with sign language. They discovered very quickly, however, that Seth wanted to speak much more than he wanted to sign. Through research and a little luck, Pete and Sue found hear ME now!. Although at four years of age, Seth was a little older than most students who begin attending hear ME now!’s preschool, he learned quickly and his language exploded! Thanks to a lot of hard work by Seth’s teachers, therapists and his parents’ attitude of “We’ll do whatever it takes”, Seth was ready to attend a regular kindergarten program in his own community the following year.

Today, Seth is an active fourth grader. He loves to go camping and fishing with his family, wrestles on a local team, rides his bike with his friends and plays a great game of chess. He enjoys playing basketball, baseball or going to the movies with his older brother and sister, Adam and Leah.

“We’re happy to support hear ME now!,” say parents Pete and Sue. “They helped Seth learn how to listen and speak. What better gift could they ever have given us?”

MADISON’S JOURNEY

“This is a story about my daughter Madison’s journey to being successfully mainstreamed into third grade. Madison was diagnosed with a hearing loss at age 4 months. She is profoundly deaf in both ears. We were living in Florida when Maddy was born and we began early intervention services right away. They told us to keep talking and talking to our baby. We were lucky that the State early intervention coordinators truly gave us information about all communications options and let us make our own decisions for our family. We decided we wanted Maddy to be oral because that’s what our family is. Also, we thought that Maddy could always learn sign language but that we had to get her access to sound as soon as we could because if she didn’t use hearing she would lose the ability to learn to listen and talk.

She received her right implant at age 13 months and her left implant at four years of age. We chose Medel cochlear implants – it was hard as a parent to pick which manufacturer to use. I thought “Should we wait? What if the technology gets better?” The company has been with us every step of the way, their customer service is amazing and we haven’t had any problems with the device.

She received speech and auditory therapy twice a week at a private auditory oral school and once a week at our implant center. At first, I felt a little disappointed – I thought when she got her implant she would start hearing right away, I didn’t realize we still had to teach her to listen. So, at first her progress was slow – but amazing once she began to learn to listen and talk. Her older sisters Anita (13) and Christina (11) helped so much – they are girls that love to talk! When Maddy reached preschool age, she attended an auditory oral preschool and a mainstream daycare, and both provided her with different skills and experiences.

When Maddy was approaching Kindergarten age, we moved to Maine. I was nervous about relocating and leaving the professionals that had helped us, but we contacted hear ME now, and they helped us so much with the transition. We still needed speech/audition therapy and they provided that, plus they helped us talk to the school system about having her attend Kindergarten for a full day, instead of the usual half day. This gave her all the repetition she needed and by the time she was ready for 1st Grade, she was able to be fully mainstreamed. The School Department has been so responsive and wonderful about working with us – they realized that a few extra supports early in Maddy’s education would get her where she needed to be, and lessen the need for services as she got older.

They’ve worked as a team with us and with hear ME now. The consultation hear ME now provides continues to be so helpful to the classroom staff. We could never have gotten Maddy where she is today without the support and knowledge of the listening and spoken language professionals at hear ME now!
Excerpted from 2010 newsletter.

THOMAS!

Thomas is a happy, bubbly little boy. He lives with his parents, April and Ty, and big sister, Shannon. He will celebrate his third birthday in June and will have a new baby sister in August!

When Thomas was just weeks old, testing with an audiologist confirmed a profound bilateral hearing loss. April remembers driving home that day in the rain and thinking that Thomas would never hear the rain pouring on the windshield. Thomas was fitted with hearing aids and began speech therapy and ASL (American Sign Language) instruction.

The family began working with the Children’s Hospital Boston to see if Thomas was a candidate for cochlear implants. He received his first implant at 14 months and the second at 25 months. The first 18 months after receiving his implant were frustrating and discouraging. Thomas would constantly remove his processors and toss them across the room. Just trying to keep them on his head for five minutes was a struggle.

April and Ty became interested in hear ME now! when a Listening & Spoken Language Specialist spoke to the Parent-Infant-Toddler program at the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. After the presentation, April researched auditory-oral education and realized that auditory oral “was the one option that COMPLETELY made sense for our family”. The Morins visited hear ME now, met with the Listening and Spoken Language Specialist and began learning how to implement the principles of Auditory Verbal Therapy at home. They also continued to attend ASL classes but as time progressed, it became clear that Thomas was not picking up ASL, even though the family had made a strong effort to learn it (2-3 times weekly) and teach it to Thomas. At 24 months, the family decided to stop signing and focus on improving Thomas’ auditory skills.

After 22 months in auditory only programming, Thomas is Listening and talking very well. April says, “Can you imagine what I felt the first time he said “Momma?” The first time he hummed along to the car stereo? We are feeling so positive about the choices we have made. A recent evaluation showed us that Thomas’ comprehensive language tested at 22 months. That tells me that he is not only hearing what we say, but understanding it as well. He is closing the gap between his chronological age (32 months) and his hearing age (18 months). We are extremely encouraged by the results that we’re seeing. It is our goal to mainstream Thomas right into kindergarten with peers of his age!” Excerpted from 2010 newsletter.